Whiskey Lullaby
by DesertDarkfire
Summary: Loss and heartache. One leaves. One stays. What is truth? What is an illusion?


_Whiskey Lullaby_

_A/N: Credit for the title and inspiration of this little beauty goes to the song "Whiskey Lullaby" by Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss. Once again, many thanks to my Beta and Prereader. Without their encouragement to keep going, this would not exist._

Heath POV

I had known something was going on with Zo the minute I felt it. She was in someone else's arms. As if that didn't hurt enough, the next thing she did shattered my heart. Splinters. The crystalline slivers cutting as they made their escape outward and inward. She shared her blood with him! The next thing that I was aware of was my screaming her name out loud.

"Zoey, NO!"

It felt like my soul was ripped from my body. Then without any warning was the sudden onslaught of pain—unendurable, horrendous pain. It felt like the agony dragged on for hours…

The moment it stopped, I knew what had happened. My Imprint with Zoey, that magical blood bond that is most sacred between human and vampyre, was broken.

4 months later…

"I still can't believe she did that," I said to myself in frustration. It didn't matter what I said or did, though. Zoey wouldn't have anything to do with me. I felt like I had been thrown away-a worthless piece of discarded trash.

I had tried everything; calling her, texting her, even climbing the House of Night walls again in a desperate and vain attempt to get her attention! It was no use. Nothing would get her to talk to me.

I welcomed the burn the whiskey provided as it ran from the bottle down my throat. Then I took another gulp. I laughed but it was both silent and humorless. Vodka couldn't touch this. A flamethrower couldn't touch it.

I would _never_ have thought that Zo would do something like breaking our Imprint. Even she knew how dangerous it would have been. For both of us. Even so, nothing could make it better.

I didn't care about anything anymore. I had lost my college scholarship, gotten kicked off the football team for my constant drinking, and my grades had gotten so low that I was probably going to drop out of high school or be kicked out.

It's true that the drinking had been pretty much non-stop for the past 4 months, or was it 5?

I just couldn't remember anything these days. I went for a basic check up and my doctor and his well-meaning minions kindly told me that if I kept drinking like this, I would most likely be dead in a month. "Well, let's get that far" I said sarcastically. Secretly, even I knew I would die if I kept going like this. I could only wish.

I was a ticking bomb.

1 month later…

I could feel it. The sensation of my body dying was almost palpable. I was shaking uncontrollably, having drenching night sweats, and reveled in it all.

It was a Herculean struggle to put paper to pen-I almost couldn't write it. I managed to scribble my last note, paired alongside Zoey's old picture from when she lived here in Broken Arrow. It had her beautiful smile, the one I had loved so much and her vibrant brown eyes. It said "I will love her for eternity." Then I haphazardly folded the note over and reached back to finish things with my old friend, whiskey.

It was my last bottle.

It was my last everything.

2 hours later…

I must have collapsed about an hour ago. Then the hallucinations started. They were frightening and strange. Just plain weird. Some were much worse than others. The one I was having right now? I was ok with. It had my Zo. She was bending over me, begging me not to leave her. She was pleading in true Zo style. She was trying to convince me that it was all a bunch of bullpoopie and that everything would be ok.

Her tears ran down her face and onto mine-giving me absolution, forgiveness. Her skin was warm and seemed so real. I even smelled the sweetness of her breath as it washed over my lips and straight into my soul.

My vision was blurring and it was getting harder to move. I was growing cold and still-my body was shutting down. I knew I was going to die and I was okay with that. My pain would be over and I would wait for Zoey on the other side, wherever that was.

As my heart slowed and eventually stilled, I felt them. Her lips on mine. The last thing I would see in this life was Zo kissing me. I closed my eyes a final time. Wherever I was going, I hoped I would one day see my Zoey again.

Zoey POV

I had decided to go visit Heath and tell him that somehow we'd make it work. I truly loved him. He needed to know that.

I had just reached the top of the stairs, close to his bedroom when I sensed something wasn't right. Nyx appeared, startling me. She faced me, but there was sadness in her eyes.

"Nyx, is something wrong?"

"_Yes, daughter. Go into his bedroom. Be strong. I fear you will find the results heartbreaking." _

Fearing the worst, I ran in. I looked around the room. All the posters were gone. The bed was a mess, his sheets half pulled off. This wasn't like him at all. After examining the unusually messy room, I started looking for Heath. I couldn't see him anywhere.

Something pulled me to the other side of the room. As I reached the bed, I found him. He was very still and tangled amidst the sweat stained sheets. I leaned down to see if he was still breathing. He was, but it was getting shallower by the minute.

I couldn't help it. I started to cry.

Tears silently leaked down my cheeks. I told him this was all a bunch of bullpoopie. He'd never make fun of me using that word, not like Aphrodite would. I continued to cry, spilling all my sadness out before him, letting it leak from my soul.

I looked down and realized he wasn't breathing anymore. I screamed at him, telling him to come back to me. I pounded on his cold, muscular chest with my fists. I shook him forcefully, hoping it would bring him back.

It didn't. I was alone.

I sighed. "Wait for me…"


End file.
